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Stroller with passive restraint arrangementStroller with passive restraint arrangement description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070152478, Stroller with passive restraint arrangement. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Disclosure [0002] The present invention is directed to strollers, and more particularly to a stroller with a seating arrangement that provides a passive restraint feature for an occupant. [0003] 2. Description of Related Art [0004] Strollers are well known in the art to include a seat with a seat bottom and a seat back. Such strollers are also well known to optionally include a tray, grab bar, or other structure that traverses laterally across the stroller seat. Such a tray or other structure is typically positioned above the seat bottom and forward of the seat back s that an occupant sits behind the structure and their legs extend forward beneath the structure. [0005] In a typical stroller, both the front edge region of the seat bottom and the underside of the tray or other traversing structure have a relatively linear profile laterally across the width of the stroller. This creates a fairly consistent vertical gap between the underside of the traversing structure and the top side of the seat bottom near its forward edge. [0006] Stroller seats are typically provided with a safety belt or harness for the purpose of restraining a child or infant in the seat. However, a child that is not properly restrained by the belt or harness can slide forward in the seat between the forward edge of the seat bottom and the underside of the traversing structure. A child can fall completely out of the stroller seat or become trapped part way forward in the seat, between the seat bottom and the tray or other structure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0007] Objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following description in conjunction with the drawing figures, in which: [0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one example of a stroller constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. [0009] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the vertical gap between the seat bottom and the traversing structure in a prior art stroller. [0010] FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic front and side views, respectively, of one example of a passive restraint configuration between the seat bottom and the traversing structure, as shown in the stroller of FIG. 1. [0011] FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of one alternative example of a passive restraint configuration between the seat bottom and the traversing structure suitable for the stroller shown in FIG. 1. [0012] FIG. 5 is a schematic front view of another alternative example of a passive restraint configuration between the seat bottom and the traversing structure suitable for the stroller shown in FIG. 1. [0013] FIGS. 6A-6C are several views of a torso probe used during stroller compliance testing. [0014] FIG. 7 is a view of a head probe used during stroller compliance testing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE [0015] The strollers disclosed herein resolve or improve upon one or more of the problems noted above with previously known strollers. The disclosed strollers have a passive restraint configuration between a stroller seat bottom and a tray or other structure that laterally traverses the stroller above the seat bottom. The passive restraint configuration inhibits unintentional, forward pass-through of a child or infant between the seat bottom and the tray or other structure. [0016] Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one example of a stroller 10 constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. The stroller 10 is disclosed for the most part with well known representative components that are not described in detail herein. For the purposes of later description, the stroller 10 generally has a frame assembly 12 supported on a ground surface by a plurality of wheels 14. In this example, the frame 12 has a pair of spaced apart side sections 12A and 12B that are coupled to one another by cross member, link, or other interconnecting structures. Many strollers are known to have frame structures that are collapsible so that the stroller can be reconfigured between a set up condition for use, as depicted in FIG. 1, and a collapsed condition (not shown). Many strollers are also known to have only a single seat as shown, suitable for one occupant. Some other strollers are known to have more than one seat to accommodate multiple occupants, whether in a stadium seating arrangement, a side-by-side seating configuration, a dual front and rear facing seating arrangement, or the like. Nearly all strollers have at least one seat that faces forward and that is positioned at a forward end of the stroller. The disclosed invention is equally suitable for many different types of strollers, including those that have at least one forward facing, front positioned seat. [0017] The stroller 10 in the example of FIG. 1 has a single seat 16 for carrying a single occupant. The seat 16 has a generally forward facing seat back 18 and a generally upward facing seat bottom 20, though the seat back and bottom can be inclined relative to respective vertical and horizontal reference planes. The forward exposed surface 22 of the seat back 18 and the upward exposed surface 24 of the seat bottom together create a seating surface against which an infant or toddler would lie when sitting in the stroller. The seat 16 is positioned between the frame side sections 12A and 12B and is suspended or supported in an in-use position by the frame assembly. [0018] Many strollers are provided with a traversing structure of some type that extends laterally side-to-side between the two frame side sections 12A and 12B. The configuration and purpose of the traversing structure can vary. The structure can be a simple planar surface, a tray with one or more recesses, a grab bar, or the like. In this example, the traversing structure is shown as a tray 30. The tray 30 is mounted to portions of the opposed frame side sections 12A and 12B and traverses the between the frame sections above the seat bottom and forward of the seat back. The tray 30 can be secured to the frame structure in any suitable manner at its opposed ends and can be fixed to, and optionally removably detachable from, the stroller. With the tray 30 or other structure in place, a foot opening or space 31 is created above the surface 24 of the seat bottom 20 and beneath the underside 32 of the tray 30. [0019] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic front view of a conventional or prior art stroller 100. The conventional stroller 100 in this example is shown having opposed, spaced apart frame side sections 112A and 112B, a seat back 118 and seat bottom 120 positioned between the frame side sections, an upward facing seat bottom surface 124, and a tray 130 with an underside 132. A width of a foot opening or vertical gap 131 is created between the frame side sections 112A and 112B. A height of the foot opening 131 is defined between the tray underside 132 and the seat bottom surface 124. In the conventional stroller depicted in FIG. 2, the underside 132 of the tray 130 has a somewhat or generally linear lateral profile, as does the forward edge of the seat bottom surface 124. Thus, the vertical gap or height of the foot opening between the underside of the tray and the upward facing surface of the seat bottom is relatively consistent across the stroller width. As noted previously, when a child is resting unrestrained in the seat of this stroller 100, the child is at risk of sliding forward beneath the tray 130. [0020] FIGS. 3-5 illustrate three of many possible alternative examples of seat and tray configurations that can be utilized to create a passive restraint feature for a stroller. The passive restraint is configured so that a child can not slide or pass unintentionally through the foot opening 31 between the tray 30 and the seat bottom 20. In each example, an obstruction is positioned within the foot opening 31 to inhibit a child from fitting, and thus unintentionally sliding, between the tray 30 and seat bottom 20. [0021] FIGS. 1, 3A, and 3B show one example of such a passive restraint configuration. In this example, the underside 32 of the tray 30 does not have a linear profile. Instead, the underside 32 includes a downward projecting obstruction 40 carried by the tray 30. The obstruction 40 in this example has a smoothly curved lower end 42 and a gradually tapering width, becoming narrower moving away from the tray underside 32. The obstruction 40 can vary in configuration and construction and yet fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention. In one example, the obstruction can also have a tapered or changing height dimension over its length, though not shown herein. The rear end 44 as shown and that faces a seat occupant can have the largest obstruction dimension. The obstruction 40 can be sized and configured to prevent a part of the child's body from becoming wedged between the lower end 42 of the obstruction and the seat bottom 20. The obstruction surfaces can be shaped and contoured so as to avoid sharp edges and to prevent injury to an occupant of the stroller seat, should the occupant slide into contact with the obstruction 40. Continue reading about Stroller with passive restraint arrangement... Full patent description for Stroller with passive restraint arrangement Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Stroller with passive restraint arrangement patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Stroller with passive restraint arrangement or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Seating and/or reclining furniture for use outdoors or in wet areas, especially lounger or the like Next Patent Application: Portable heated stadium seat and method Industry Class: Chairs and seats ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Stroller with passive restraint arrangement patent info. 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